Blogging the beginning of Chicago's Christian Science fellowship

This is the online home of the Christian Science Fellowship – Metro Chicago. This group was started by an enthusiastic group of Christian Scientists who wanted to see how Christian Science could be more accessible, more welcoming to everyone, feel totally new, and yet stay securely anchored in its origins.

Our mission is to nourish Christian Science worship, fellowship, and healing in a warm, bold, new way that supports one another and reaches the world.

Fellowship was an integral part of early Christianity, and as such we feel it is an important part of our journey together. We hope to foster fellowship and create a nurturing, non-judgmental space where everyone feels welcome, valued, listened to, and loved. We’re doing this through a variety of activities: Gatherings twice a month where we explore relevant topics from a spiritual perspective; our Book Club which was established so that we can read and learn about other spiritual thinkers; Special Events throughout the year; and thoughtful discussion through our social media outlets – this blog, our Facebook page, and Twitter.

This group has been developed mainly for the purpose of encouraging Christian Scientists to live their lives more openly, freely, and sincerely in the Chicago area we live in. We hope that this expression of caring, listening, thinking, and learning will encourage more depth and breadth as Fellowship members live these things in their own churches. There is no particular “style” or “right theology” that we’re striving to infuse into churches. We’re simply asking questions and allowing the space for people to think deeply. These opportunities for learning and sharing are intended to strengthen the practical and loving expressions of church throughout the area.

We also hope that as members come from a wide variety of communities, our fellowship and love will help to strengthen the relationships between churches; we’ll understand and care for each other better as we practice listening to and supporting one another.

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We have updated this “About Us” page and we wanted to have a record of the following original (this has been edited since) to make sure we have context for the comments to it, the date of Sept. 7, 2009 was put on this comment so it would come before the comments that referred to it (today’s date is actually Sept. 10, 2011):

This blog is brought to you by group called Christian Science Fellowship – Metro Chicago.

We started with a yearning to see how Christian Science can be more accessible, more welcoming to everyone, feel totally new, and yet stay securely anchored in its origins. Then, three of us (Shirley, Rindy, and Sandi) heard about a new form of Christian Science church forming in St. Louis – Next Generation Christian Science Fellowship. We went to visit, loved what we saw and experienced, and brought it back to grow-our-own here in Chicago. Amy joined us about a month later.

Our effort to re-imagine worship and fellowship in the 21st century is quite an adventure. This blog is called “what is happening,” because the idea is to both let you know what is happening with this adventure — when we’re meeting, help that is needed, etc. — and to share with you the story of this effort.

The blog is also designed for two-way conversation; for you to comment on the ideas being expressed and to contribute your own creative ideas about what church can be.
Christian Science Fellowship — Metro Chicago is all about “enlarging the tent.”
• *Everyone* is welcome. We mean that. We’re not going to judge. What matters is that you love Christ and Mary Baker Eddy’s discovery of what that means to humanity. We want to link hands with others in bringing this message to the world because you feel that you just HAVE TO.

• If you are a meth addict who loves Christian Science, we want you to join in our fellowship; you probably won’t be a meth addict for long. If you have a heart for humanity and want to help the hungry, we want your help. If you are a Christian Science practitioner, your example will inspire. Or if you are taking medication for a chronic illness, we want you too.
• A key goal is to “enlarge the tent.” That quote comes from the prophet Isaiah, who comforted the Jews with the promise that their barren years would be restored, and that fresh, new life would appear. He told them to “enlarge the site of your tent, and let the curtains of your habitations be stretched out.”
• This might take different forms. Some Christian Scientists will be inspired to explore the new possibilities and bring them back to their own church families. Church members do not need to sever their relations with their own churches in order to participate in the activity of this new group. Others will be more comfortable concentrating all their efforts into the group, which is on the path to becoming a Christian Science Society. We’ll also welcome folks who have been adrift from Christian Science for a whole variety of reasons. We hope they’ll recognize the “welcome home” sign and feel the love and care they know they need. And certainly people who are just introduced to Christian Science will know right away that they are valuable and loved, just as they are.
Other key points about Christian Science Fellowship – Metro Chicago
• The style and expression of the church activity is intentionally different from traditional styles. As we strive to understand and cherish the substance of Church in the universal Christ and its distinctive idealism in Christian Science, those things that have become ritual by culture are dropping away. Art and music always move, and they require of us to adopt new expressions of the ever-lasting Christ.
• Guitars, drums, and trumpets are more likely to guide the music than an organ.
• YouTube and skits are just as likely to tell stories as reading from the Bible.
• The full life of Christian Science worship, learning, service, and healing require a broad range of activity. In addition to the classic church service (expressed in contemporary style) and making use of all the resources of The Mother Church, the Metro Chicago society is planning to provide activities for whatever needs come to our attention.
• Small groups will meet throughout the week in various places. They may focus on Bible study, parenting, book & film discussions, dealing with medical issues, or whatever you’re interested in.
• Adults and kids alike will have an opportunity to get involved in service projects. Perhaps they’ll have a chance to connect with other faith groups in the area, or they may find their own guidance.
• Interfaith and ecumenical (inter- and intra-Christian) discussions are increasingly important in the growing pluralism of our day. We’ll make an effort to learn about other religions and how we can communicate more comfortably and effectively with them.
Communication within and without
• Effective communication is changing as radically as music and other traditions. In order for everyone to hear and be heard, we acknowledge the need for an active website. It’s coming along as fast as we can get it up. We’ll keep you posted with this blog and — soon — with social media, until the full website is functioning.
• This is where you’ll find what’s happening and when
• This is where you’ll keep up with the way thoughts are moving and decisions are being made.
• This is where you can contribute. Comment on others’ threads. Let us know if you’d like to post a new thread.
• Plans for the website include a home for communication between members and also a place to introduce new people to the meaning and activity of the society.

I love the thinking behind this.
Christian Science is relevant to all of life’s issues.
Kudos to you all for the boldness to ask that our churches be relevant!
I’ll be following this discussion…..Thank you for all the work and prayer you all have put into this!

To my Chicago friends – way to go! Your inclusive love, healthy perspective, and courage will not return void.

Rindy, Sandi, Shirley, and all, if you’re meeting somewhere with insufficient or no audio infrastructure and could use some audio engineering startup direction, then I’ve got your back!

I did the same for the new St. Louis fellowship, and now that they’ve been able to purchase the right equipment, they’ve been able to stand on their own in good shape making good music with everyone able to hear.

Human beings tend to see the world the way they are, the way individuals see what is happening. When we find people who agree with our views, we tend to be attracted to them and believe others should believe the way we do things. I have to fight that tendency in myself fairly often.

About the informal CS group. There is a need for people who don’t feel either comfortable in an organized setting or want more discussion and social contact with other students of Christian Science.

Don’t you feel that the Church Manual has room for interpretation that meets changing needs? Is Christian Science to be interpreted in the same way under for all the centuries in which it exists? Should Christian Science services and meetings follow the Manual in the same sense as the Catholic Church following the Liturgical Mass as in Latin only?

I am a college student and very busy. I go with friends sometimes to their church, like the Baptist and Nazarene although I am a Christian Scientist. The Baptist Church and the Nazarine church both have coffee shops with big screen TV’s so you can have your coffee and watch what’s going on in the auditorium. Both the Baptist and Nazarene churches have the bands and lots of singing. Loud music, very little sermon or Bible reading. I guess they want to entertain so people don’t get bored. All you have to do is show up, be social with your friends. Well I can tell you these churches with their entertainment have made me more appreciative of the simple and unique service that Mrs. Eddy established. I have my Ipod and cell phone with friends that call me all hours. I have a busy week with school and I can’t wait to go to church to hear the quiet simple Truth at a real Christian Science church. It is unique because I can think and think about God. I don’t have something leading my thought away from God. I love the quiet simple service that was established by God through Mrs. Eddy. I respect, honor and cherish what Mrs. Eddy established as church. Because of this respect I wouldn’t think of changing a thing. Being bored about church means you aren’t getting what it means to be a true Christian Scientist. Healing is the most exciting part of my life and I get excited about God in my life. Sound to me like you want to promote personality and to get people who think Christian Science is boring into a group. What ever happened to thinking about healing boredom instead creating a group to meet the loud demand of the generation who can’t stand to be able think or want to really hear what God is saying to them. Your church is a personality church so maybe you need to go join one of the churches I mention so you don’t have to spend money on guitars and drums. Maybe you would be happy at one of these other churches because this is not Christian Science. A healing service is what Christian Science is all about not entertaining and promoting not being bored by your actions. God love you and may you find your way back to Christian Science, the real thing.

What’s interesting to me about your comment, Jason, is that you verify for me Mary Baker Eddy’s point that “Whatever inspires with wisdom, Truth, or Love – be it song, sermon, or Science – blesses the human family with crumbs of comfort from Christ’s table, feeding the hungry and giving living waters to the thirsty” (Science and Health, 234). That is, there is nothing “wrong” with the way you find your inspiration. And there is nothing “wrong,” if others find it more through “song” than “sermon” or even “Science” – they’ll still find crumbs of comfort.

How truly we agree with you that seekers and seasoned Christian Scientists alike should find the opportunity to contemplate what it is that is feeding the hungry and giving living waters to the thirsty. Providing for a variety of means through which these needs are met is simply our effort to respect the “song, sermon, or Science” Mary Baker Eddy refers to. We’re planning for both quiet and less-quiet means of worship.

You’re doing a good job fielding all of the varied and sometimes emotional responses to your work.

Just a note of support for the spirit of what you’re doing. We all have to work this out now. It is being demanded of us.

I’ve felt many times not only disenfranchised but disillusioned, disappointed, disrespected — all of the “disses” from my church experience. I’ve hung in with the traditional CS church but I’m grateful that you’ve seen a way here to go forward with so much love and acceptance.

Christian Scientists cannot afford to judge anyone else. We’ve got our own work to do and you’re doing it.

One reason I’m glad we have this blog is that it allows people to jump back into the conversation whenever they wish. I’m glad you re-raised your question about The Manual, Amanda, because it did get inadvertently moved back. It’s an important one, and I sure don’t want it to get lost.

There really is a basic, foundational assumption that Christian Science Fellowship-Metro Chicago is all about the Christian Science that Mary Baker Eddy defined in her writings. We’re seeing The Church Manual as an enabling document that opens the door for our capacity to express and share Christian Science in ever-broadening channels. So, the answer to your question is that The Church Manual is at the heart of all that we’re doing. The expression of it does admittedly look different from some of our long-held traditions, but newness is springing forth as directly from the heart of The Manual as were those traditions when they first appeared. The substance is still the same; the form is new.

Your question about the relationship between The Manual and mortal folderol reminds me of the passage from this week’s Bible Lesson, where Jesus “sat at meat” with “many publicans and sinners” and explained his behavior with: “They that are whole have no need of the physician, but they that are sick: I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance” (Mark 2). My prayer is to always listen for that Christ spirit guiding me to “sit at meat” with those who need the very healing Jesus was talking about.

I live in Boston so I don’t think I’ll be attending many of the Chicago gatherings of this group (I wish I could!). But even from afar I am inspired by what you are doing. Why? Because I feel lots of love and honesty and intelligence in the way questions and criticisms are answered. What’s refreshing to me is that there isn’t an edge. More than the specifics of what the group is doing or not doing is the spirit of the Christ which really speaks to me and gives me hope that change can happen in Christian Science circles — change permeated with love and respect. I am sure you will attract many who are looking for a church experience that is down-to-earth, genuine, loving, honest, and alive.

I am totally open to new and creative ideas. I am presented with them all the time, and there is a lot of “Oh, Oh, we can do this or we can do that.” But my main question is “but will it bring about healing and an uplifting of consciousness?” That is my only concern, unveiling the Christ!
I think that many of things you are mentioning doing, are things our churches should be doing already. So I wonder why it needs to be in addition to the service? Our doors should be open to any “sincer seeker of Truth” free of judgment. Jesus’ heart certainly was! We need to be seeing each and every person attending our services and in our community as already whole and perfect. If we don’t see them coming in that way, we sure as heck wont see them leaving that way!We need to be holding the hands of others, if not physically them mentally.
But I am not judging others whether they are are are not doing this, only myself. I know I quite often have to go outside my comfort zone to do these things, but it really isn’t about me being comfortable is it! That isn’t in the Beatitudes- “Blessed are the comfortable” no it is Blessed are those who comfort, for they chall be comforted. I need to keep on correcting myself on that!
What this activity might do for our church community, both in Chicago and around the world, is open our eyes to new and inspired idea which can invigorate our services. Each service should be unique! We expect a fresh new sky each morning filled with new songs from birsds, new clouds, grass just alittle taller, leaves a touch different in shade, what ever. Like wise each church service should be equally fresh. It doesn’t have to be different from what the Manual tells us. We need to stay grounded on that rock , but there are infinite ways to express it, because it is the “structure of Truth and Love” God isn’t stale, getting old, turning Her back on us. So what is limiting us, but animal magnetism and mortal mind.
I am not comfortable saying this is right or wrong. It probably isn’t my bag, but it might meet the need of someone else. I do know that nothing can come of error, only good has any lasting effect. That schism are the works of animal magnetism, so I need to support hte good that is in the motive here, if nothing else. I do know no matter how mislead something is (and I am not saying this is) it can not harm, mar or touch the good sent down from God. God’s laws are in harmony, and that omnipotent harmony of Love governs all. I am absolutely positive only good can come of any act to uplift Spirit!

So what all of you are saying is that you will not be following the church manual. That you will use rationalization of Mrs. Eddy’s words to explain your actions and not take responsibility for your actions. To “just love and not judge” means that you are not going to take responsiblity for your actions.

Amanda, it appears that your assessment of our actions is not accord with your reading of the Church Manual. I’m sorry to hear you feel that way, because in our hearts we are committed to the Church Manual and expect to take responsibility for our actions.

The Manual states that you should not be influenced eroneously and therefore doesn’t that include judging. You make a judgement call when you wake in the morning as to whether you will get out of bed or not. Are you going to stop at at a stop sign or just go barreling through? What it boils down to are you going to use the Manual or not? So far no one has said and I think you are erroneous in your thinking. Again you don’t get the statement “I’m not going to judge, I’m just going to love”. It is a statement that says you will not live according to the rules that are set down for you. It like tip toeing through the tulip and having you head in the clouds. I hope the law makers doesn’t take that attitude. Sounds to me that we are just suppose to roll over dead and let you do what ever you want to do. That statement is not Christian Science. You need to check Mrs. Eddy’s writings and the Bible on what is said about judging.

OK. I think I understand more clearly the issue that you’re raising, Amanda. Let me repeat back to you what I think you’re saying in my own words, to see if I’ve got it right. You are referring specifically to the Manual By-law that says, “The members of this Church should daily watch and pray to be delivered from all evil, from prophesying, judging, condemning, counseling, influencing, or being influenced erroneously” (p. 40). And your point is that our emphasis on not judging others is inconsistent with the rule that we should be delivered from erroneous judgment, as opposed to wise judgment. Is that it?

If I understand this correctly, then of course we agree with you that it’s foolish to ignore the difference between good and evil. Distinguishing between good and evil is the same as discerning whether thoughts originate in God or not.

The Manual alerts us to be delivered from judging — perhaps erroneous judging, if “erroneous” is meant to modify each of those words in the list. Jesus clarifies the difference between good judgment and bad judgment, saying: “Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment” (Mat 7:24). If we’re not clear about how to tell the difference, he helps us relate to it with our own desire not to be judged wrongly: “Do not judge, so that you will not be judged” (Mat 7:1). Judging from “appearances” would come from such motives as fear, arrogance, selfishness, and Pharisee-like thoughts. Judging with “righteous judgment” would come from such motives as honesty, humility, and Christ-like thoughts.

The instruction from Jesus feels like a message of love: that we should take care not to evaluate on the basis of external appearances or behavior, but rather to think more deeply about the substance of one’s worth.

On this basis, we take seriously the injunction from the Manual to be “delivered from…judging…erroneously” and to follow our Master’s teaching, “do not judge, so that you will not be judged.”

A heartfelt embrace to everyone who is working to bring this fellowship to fruition and to all those watching from afar, as I am, with much interest to see how this new idea takes shape and unfolds. We cannot ignore the fact that our movement, based on this beautiful Science that our beloved leader worked so hard to bring to the world and that we all hold so dear, is in need of our thoughts, prayers and fresh inspiration to keep it… well, moving… I applaud this tiny band of brothers and sisters that are seeing what is happening as our young people leave the churches and instead of ignoring it or bemoaning it they are asking the tough questions about why people are leaving and what they can do.

Surely anyone who has ever sat through a branch church meeting where at times selfishness, pettiness and small mindness sets in where self forgetfulness, love, and expansive thought should rule supreme can understand the need for some fellowship among us. Healing is of course essential to the continuation and growth of our movement, we must however make sure that we are reaching out to everyone with love and acceptance, and welcoming everyone into our hearts.

I do not understand what folks are referring to when they talk about people needing to be entertained, my understanding of this fellowship idea is that it is about coming together as a community and sharing and welcoming and loving each other right where we each are and trying to foster a spirit of acceptance and friendliness. I do not see this idea as trying to usurp or replace the traditional service that I love so dearly, but rather a way to bring all of us together in that true spirit of love that can only enhance our spiritual journey. I know that you are all working and praying carefully as you take the first steps here, your answers and posts here indicate that, and I am so very grateful.

I think offense is taken when the statement is made “I don’t judge, I just love.” I think that is new age jargon from either Depak Chopra or the Course on Miracles. I’ve been reading some of these books and found that The Course on Miracles was written back in the 1970’s plagarizing Christian Science. The author is also an atheist and she talks about that in the forward. The saying “I don’t judge, I just love” gives an “air head” approach and not a Christian Science approach to what is right reasoning. Not to call anyone an “air head” but it goes back to what Mrs. Eddy warns about as see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil which is wrong reasoning. Judging means to “think”. Christian Science is the only religion that teaches you to think. So if you were to put the word “think” in place of judge you would have “I’m not going to think, I’m just going to love”. Sound like an air head to me. Certainly we want to welcome everyone lovingly but to present Christian Science in such a way with that statement is immoral and unethical.

So glad to hear you are reaching out to minorities! In my branch church in Naperville, individuals in the membership have been praying for several years to see more diversity in our congregation. We now treasure an Indian family, Hispanic family, Muslim family, and an African-American among those who are attending regularly and joining or have joined our church. I believe much of this is due to the efforts of those who do CS literature distribution in these communities, and also the willingness of the lecture committee to sponsor lectures in these communities, which has openned the collective thought of the church to minorities. I know this experience must be protected with prayer because in the past I have been shocked at the fear and assumptions that have been expressed about minority people who joined our church.

I love your concept of lobby love! This is why our church purchased a tent for the front lawn – to extend the lobby visiting time after church for another hour outdoors on the front lawn with refeshments and everyone loves it! Our members get to know each other through committee work, but those who have not yet joined really need this special extended time.

Just curious – Does your group advertise its meetings to the public and is the public invited? Keep up all the good work!

Bonnie, how encouraging to hear of your earnest prayer and progress with diversity in your congregation. Thanks for sharing the encouragement for everyone who reads this blog.

In answer to your final question — do we advertise to the public, and is everyone invited? — yes, everyone is definitely invited. This blog is wide open to the public, and so everyone who reads it is invited. Also, we’re just beginning to make our presence known through Facebook and Twitter. Our Facebook name is “Christian Science Fellowship – Metro Chicago” which you can find through the “search” button. We’d love to have you become a fan, and help us spread the word!

Hello Amanda,
I appreciate your apparently keen sense of righteousness, especially with regard to obedience to the Manual, both of which things I also strive to embody (although, admittedly, only faultily so) and which I believe that the leaders’ of CSF-MC also strive to embody. I assume, therefore, that we all find no ultimate contradiction between the righteous judging of others and the loving of them. After all, “judgment must begin at the house of God” (see I Pet. 4:17a), which uses God’s Word as its only judge, and we know that the Supreme Judge of all is omnipotent Love, thus making all righteous judgment so loving that it heals whatever is judged.

I can’t help but think of the example that was given by a ‘leader’ of CSF-MC at a recent ‘leadership team’ meeting, in which she explained the African custom of setting an offender in the midst of a circle of his or her friends, who all showered him or her with loving examples of his or her past goodness, until he or she understood that what he or she had done was an aberration of his or her own usual sense of goodness. Such loving judgment, in those African healing circles we were informed, usually healed the offender, even if took some time to achieve.

Intuition tells me that you and I may be ‘kindred souls,’ so I would like to extend an invitation to you to contact me for further dialogue just between the two of us. I can be reached at davycady1910@yahoo.com. Please drop me a line, and may God bless you, my sister in Christ.

Having recently attended a service at the Next Generation CS Fellowship in St. Louis, let me say – I was thrilled. The “fellowship” meeting is in addition to their regular CS service. I left feeling so inspired and so grateful. To see a CS service filled with people of all ages and diversities, all worshipping and singing together. It was food for the soul of everyone there!

I shall never forget the 2002 Annual Meeting, which was full of all kinds of praise and worship that may have shocked many traditional Scientists. I was surprised – but in the absolute best of ways!

I think of Jesus cooking fish and feeding his disciples, having his disciples feed the multitudes, breaking bread in the houses of the scribes and pharisees, etc. He met the people where they were – i.e, stories to the fishermen about casting nets on the right side, to the farmers about planting seed in good soil, to builders about putting their foundation on rock, not shifting sands, etc.

That is the need these CS Fellowships seem to me to be filling. Meeting the people where they are! Giving seekers a cup of cold water in the middle of a hot, dusty road is a demonstration of Christly comfort and will do much in forwarding the reality of Christian Science to those who know nothing about it, or those Scientists who have become disillusioned for any myriad of reasons.

As someone quoted above, “whatever inspires…song, sermon or Science…”

Oh, and let us not cast the first stone at other religions that may be helping others. Isn’t the sad shape of the world today due in a large part to one or the other “religion” trying to force its ideology on everyone???

Love – Divine Love – is the only answer – in whatever form it comes to each one of us. Our job on this planet is to share that love, in the way the Shepherd shows us.

With your permission, I would like to share a poem (clumsy tho it may be) that expresses my sense of why we need to open our hearts to love without “judgement”.

Hard wooden pews are not inviting.
They speak of Judgement, sin, and everlasting punishment.
Hardly a feast for eager souls.
More reminiscent of convicts lined up waiting for their crust
In some ancient stony prison.

It isn’t comfort that is the issue, but freshness of ideas
To nourish hearts emptied by a mortal world.
What morsel is there for me, what crumb to ease my hurt?
What drink will clean an inside left in chaos by
A thousand human wills?

I see the smiles, I feel the love, but why
Would they offer such a cold, hard seat
To one bereft of care?
Is this just another lie, a surface goodness,
A whited seplchure?

I’ve had enough of those. The Gym, one said, would bring fellowship.
Another claimed a ghost would be my friend.
And still another clothed in finery, showed me how poor and ratty was
My own wardrobe.

I’m looking for the genuine, the real, eternal hope.
Ive read about it, it’s in the history, I think it may be here.
Who will seat me in the color of God’s own Truth?
Who will show me the glory I cannot see?
Who will stay and nurture what wants to grow
In my heart?

I want a garden filled with fragrance.
Here’s rich soil in which to plant the seed,
The gentle walkways show the master’s way,
And here a guidepost keeping us, yes us, together.

They want to sit with me! No Judgement here.
They offer comfort and grace, companionship
To my lonely desert growth, my bitterbrush hardness.
The rain of new ideas takes root and shows me what I
Dared to hope.

They seat me in the comfort of an easy chair.
My punishment is passed, and here I am being told
of my own perfection. These smiles are real,
they rejoice with me in this Place of holy understanding.

The beauty here is real. I do not want to leave this place.
I want to put down roots in this richness,
grow into a full flowering member of this garden,
giving fragrance to His creation.
Welcome others to His grace.

Isn’t this what the African circle does? and isn’t this what we should be doing in our own churches? I am so grateful for this dialogue and the work you are all doing.

Pril!
Oh, how grateful I am that you shared this poem with us!!
The picture you (did you write this?) paint of the feelings that are associated with both being judged and not being judged are so vivid and I feel so so true!

I will be be reading this again, for sure, and keeping its message close.

Yes, Amy, I did write this recently from my own experience coming into Christian Science many years ago. I was an alcoholic, had some pretty bad habits, wasn’t always very clean owing to primitive living conditions. I was in and out of that church so fast they used to call me the silver streak (which fact I found out many years later). But the love was in that church. I was invited with my husband to the first reader’s home for dinner, along with some other newcomers. I was so frightened after I accepted, because I knew I couldn’t drink to bolster my courage–they would know, and I so wanted to be accepted by these clean wonderful people. I prayed with all my heart, bought a new outfit, and when the first reader opened the door of her home and enveloped me in a huge hug it was all over. At that dinner we laughed and enjoyed ourselves–no liquor involved–and I never drank again. I did however meet a CS practitioner at that dinner and started on a journey that will never end. I am currently a journal listed CS practitioner and first reader in my church here in Albany—primarily because of the Christian Fellowship those many years ago. Keep up the good work…it does bear fruit. with gratitude, Pril

Pril –
thank you for the very honest recounting of your story – it’s touched my heart. It reaffirms to me that for fellowship to work, it must be real – anchored in a sense of love that sees the gift we are to each other. Thanks for sharing your story and words of encouragement – they’ve inspired me. Rindy

I found this website really interesting. I’ve thought for a while that sometimes the natural outpouring of Love gets somewhat restricted by a false sense of duty, or of how people think things should be. And sometimes it is just a difference of human opinion on what’s “right”. For example, some members like to leave quietly after the services so they can hold onto the ideas & ponder them. Others make it a point to go up to visitors and greet them and try to make them feel welcome. Maybe both are right, as long as we have a balance so at least some members greet visitors. And some church members send Easter cards to distant relatives just to say ‘hi’, and others avoid anything that gives the appearance of celebrating Easter. And I know of at least one member who felt they should resign as a member since the physical difficulty they had been praying about had not yielded and they felt they needed to have surgery. And I know of other members who have not let surgery or other medical interventions derail their studies. Lots of human opinions about what’s right & wrong, and I’ve always felt that the “judge not” command was a wise one that applies to each of us. (although of course, some members feel that the command IS to judge, but just to make sure we judge “righteous judgement”.)

I always loved the song “and they’ll know we are Christians by our love”. I think people should be able to feel your love as you go about your daily work. And it should be effortless, since it’s simply God’s love reflected. But it takes an “attitude of gratitude” to let this shine through, and especially an attitude of appreciating others, & not being critical of them.

On fellowship, several members from our church have been meeting the past few years to discuss the weekly bible lesson. Sometimes it’s been scheduled weekly sessions at our Reading Room after hours, sometimes just a couple members getting together in their homes. They talk through parts they liked, or parts they didn’t understand, or parts that reminded them of healings or other experiences. These discussions have created a bond of “we’re all learning together” for these people. I think this has strengthened our church, and has definitely strengthened these individuals.

Our Wednesday evening services have also gotten less formal over time. We still use the podium for the reader, but the notices are more casual and there is more laughter and supportive comments when people share. I visited the church in Grand Junction, Colorado a couple weeks ago. For that Wednesday service, the reader sat at a card table right in front of the pews, facing the audience. And people stayed seated as they shared their comments & testimonies.

So anyway, the bottom line for me is that things that break down barriers between people, and make people feel wanted & valued, and give people confidence, go a long way towards creating an atmosphere of Love that people can relax in. And I think that Love is vitally important.

I think Pril’s story was a great one, and a great reminder that each day we touch people around us in ways we may not even realize. How important to listen & follow those quiet little Christ messages, and not get distracted by being “too busy”. The things those thoughts may lead us to do may be far more important than anything we’ve planned for the day.

I had read the articles on the website when I wrote the earlier reply, but had not read the blog comments yet. The thought that came to me was “trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not unto your own understanding”. Human opinion can be misleading. Sometimes we get hung up on debating the rightness or wrongness of the “what” we are thinking about doing, when it may really be the “how” we do things that divides the right ideas from the wrong ones.

Also, I thought about judging “righteous judgement”. I think we don’t always see clearly what we should, so sometimes we are not very good judges of whether we are really judging “righteous judgement” or not. For example, I think Simon the Pharisee probably thought he WAS judging righteous judgement in his condemnation of the Magdalen. After all, it was obvious, wasn’t it, that she had broken many society rules & wasn’t a fit person to be in his Master’s company? But Jesus saw something different.

I think we do have a responsibility to discern between right and wrong. But until we can be certain we are seeing through Jesus’ eyes, and not just through Simon’s eyes, I think erring on the side of Love is not a bad idea. 🙂

I too was impressed by and grateful for Pril’s poem and his subsequent life-story. Thank you Pril! Although I experienced some branch church hospitality once or twice in small C.S. congregations (and one of them I later joined as a result), I believe that I can still make the generalization that it has been extremely rare that any members of branch churches that I have visited, over the decades, have opened their homes to me, and when they did, the conversation rarely if ever was ‘spiritual’ (as distinct from ‘worldly’) in nature. Perhaps they did not want to alienate me, but I was hungry for specifically ‘Christian’ fellowship, not the kind of fellowship that one might experience at a country club. I can’t get over the fact that every time I visit a certain conservative Mennonite church in the countryside (where I always hear meaningful sermons from which I learn important Biblical principles), several of its members always ask me to dinner afterwards at their homes. And although devoutness pervades their lives as it rarely does many church folks these days, all of their private conversation is not strictly ‘spiritual’ either, which suits me just fine, because the atmosphere among them, in general, is so holy.

Although I agree about the discomfort of bare wooden pews and although the line in Pril’s poem “They seat me in the comfort of an easy chair” no doubt has the best possible meaning, say per Lk. 14:7-14, which wonderful meaning I would never belittle, I would just like to also weigh in on behalf of some discomfort in church, now and then, say per S&H 53:16, 101:28 only, Mis. 219:12, and My. 233:11. It is a commonplace that most modern churches of all kinds today preach a ‘feel good gospel’ that is devoid of any ‘hard sayings,’ because otherwise, they would never retain their members and attendees. Pastors have even admitted this to me. But is church necessarily a numbers game? To be sure, of course, all churches– especially a new church just starting out– better be doing something right; otherwise it will attract no one. I sat under the ministry of a certain (several hundred-member) Protestant church for 1 ½ years that preached a lot of judgment, but I needed to hear it, having never heard it before. I eventually argued with its leadership about its imbalance of judgment versus love (too much of the former vis-à-vis the latter) but to no avail, so I ended up leaving, but I remain very grateful for that church experience; in fact, I learned an immense amount of Bible from it that I never before knew existed (and I do not refer to seemingly unScientific Bible passages either), in part because they are never included in the C.S. Bible Lessons.

I agree with Mary Jo about the desirability of erring on the side of love– if, in all humility, there is any doubt about the correctness of one’s own understanding of righteousness– but I disagree that judgment must oppose love rather than include it (see, for example, the last MBE citation above, especially when combined with passages like S&H 201:17). Of course, righteous judgment is primarily a mental rather than a verbal thing, but is there a place for verbal judgment in the church (other than from the pulpit)? And, BTW, I advocate language in verbal judgment that is not even close to the strength of that used either by Jesus or by Mrs. Eddy with their disciples. I have already been the recipient of some verbal judgment from CSF-MC and have accepted it (even as Mrs. Eddy also accepted verbal judgment, see S&H 9:2 only), but my own disciplining is the least reason why, over the decades, I have advocated the twin doctrines of Christian accountability and encouragement in the ‘safe’ context of small group intimacy. Folks may have no idea how they are affecting others unless some brother or sister lovingly holds up a mirror to them and helps them to see it. There is almost never any ‘regular’ or ‘safe’ place to do that in churches. Hence the immense need for small accountability and encouragement groups (ideally weekly) in every Christian church (and, by the way, such groups did not and still do not exist in that Protestant church mentioned above that I once fellowshipped; if they had existed and worked well, I might have stayed a lot longer). Is anyone else out there (living locally) who is interested in being– and in lovingly helping to hold a very small group of fellow C.S. students– Christianly accountable and to thereby pursue Christian perfection together?

(FYI, if I tend not to come to CSF-MC meetings toward the middle of the month, it is often because I have run out of gas money)

Just to clarify a misapprehension, Pril is a woman’s name, short for Priscilla.
I am interested in Davy’s idea about discomfort. In the citations provided, I think Mrs. Eddy is referring to discomfort in error not discomfort in church, with which reference I am in agreement. In fact, the words of the lessons in the church I attended so many years ago did inspire discomfort, but only in that they pointed out how mistaken my behavior was, and the love and generosity of spirit of those church members was a major contrast to my own selfishness and a promise that I was not condemned forever.
One of the blessings of Christian Science is that we can avoid the personal judgement of each other, and let the word of God speak directly to those in need of correction. As Mary Jo said, erring on the side of love is not a bad idea.

I too, have experienced the wonderful Christian character of Mennonites, and they surely give us a fine example. A Mennonite farmer I know was struggling with some horses that had gotten loose and was being dragged around by them. Those of us in the barn, unaware of the situation, never hear a curse word, only a soft, “I could use a little help here”.
I love every evidence of the Christ I see in others, and loving unconditionally nurtures that evidence.

Hi Pril, sorry that I mistook your name for that of a man. Perhaps, on second consideration, it would indeed have been an unusually sensitive man who could have written a poem filled with as much feeling as yours is, but, I would like to believe, men can be just as sensitive as women are, although men, typically, may show less of their emotions.

I admit that my MBE citations pertain to discomfort in error, but I have never contemplated the possibility that discomfort in error could not be experienced in church just as much as elsewhere. I have witnessed outright battles in church– both inwardly as well as outwardly– and, in fact, I have always thought that one of the best places– both to face-down ‘discomfort in error’ as well as to heal ‘comfort in error’– is in church, including during the delivery of a homily or the reading of the Lesson-Sermon. Yes, I need to constantly be challenged, and the CS Lesson-Sermons usually do that for all “honest thinkers” who study them (although I sometimes wish that said Lessons would include certain never-quoted, but very challenging texts). So from this perspective, yes, I thrive on discomfort in church; without it, in fact, I would probably have to start looking for a more challenging church!

That said, on the other hand, I certainly do appreciate all of the– and especially the 7th through 10th — verses of your excellent poem. As a “tender herb” (see Deut. 32:2 and Job 38:27), as a “tender branch” (see Job 14:7), and as “a tender plant” (see Isa. 53:2), which things I believe that every true Christian is– and even, sometimes, as “a bruised reed” (see Isa. 42:3), which many new and/or injured Christians are– I and we all surely want to be viewed by others in no way other than through the lens of Truth and Love. Likewise, conversely, none of us wants to be dealt with in church like so many wooden souls to be preached at, pulpit-pounded, and spit out in fire and brimstone. Speaking gently– even tenderly– at all times should be the hallmark of the Christian, although those who know me know that that comes difficult for me, particularly in emails, and especially after a decade of brutal warfare in the courts and in political activity; both of which, as the organs of man’s law, I have now abandoned in favor of devotion to church, as the organ of God’s Law. So I am still just a learner, and your poem, which, in its own way, speaks so eloquently of church as “the structure of Truth and Love,” helps all who read it to live the same.

The intention of the fellowship, as stated above, is to become a Christian Science Society and to honor The Manual of the Mother Church. Along with this, there is a desire for a fresh approach to worship. Certainly freshness is to be encouraged for the same reasons we look for it in the produce aisle or at the bakery. This is especially so in the context of Christian Science since it is the very nature of Spirit to be ever-fresh.

It may therefore be useful to consider the essence of worship and the essence of The Manual. Worship is defined as a feeling of profound love and admiration. In etymology it is related to worth and ship. (As a brief aside, a homonym for worship is warship. A warship is a ship built for the purpose of making war and filled with the weapons of war. You may, by now, be hearing the refrain from Onward Christian Soldiers. If you are, that is natural, but it would be wise not to buy into an us and them mentality as that would not be a fellowship.)

Ships are built to be filled with cargo. Churches are built to be filled with worship—the worship being the expression of reverence, veneration, and adoration for God. The essence of church is love for God. If, at the same time, “God is Love” then the circle is complete. The fellowship will be well served by keeping the focus on this essence almost to the exclusion of all else.

In the life of the exemplar, Christ Jesus, one sees the expression of integrated love and principle. When he healed, the healing sprang from his sense of Love and when he over turned the tables of the money changers in the temple his action sprang from his sense of Principle. The overturning was both principled and loving. Principle and Love can be distinguished, but they are not divisible and therefore there is no inherent conflict between them.

If the essence of worship is love then the essence of The Manual is principle. Just as the Commandments may be seen as hard, harsh and cold by a certain sense, The Manual may be seen that way also, but in each case that view is optional and unnecessary. (As another brief aside the essence of a person is as a-point-of-view and our freedom springs from being able to change our point of view—in other words, to adopt a different point-of-view.) A useful exercise is to question each provision of The Manual by asking, “How is this Love’s provision?”

Jesus shines the light of Love on the Commandments and so transforms the Old Testament sense of a judgmental God into the New Testament sense of a gracious God. (You may, by now, be hearing the opening line of Amazing Grace and it is amazing grace that welcomes all into fellowship.) But we have yet to reach the essence of worship.

To do so we must consider where worship really happens. It may happen in a building or it may not. Being in a specific building is no guarantee of genuine worship and being outside is no bar to genuine worship. This is because worship does not take place in any building unless it is in the heart. The essence of worship is a heart filled with love. If it is not in the heart it is not in church.

Try as we might we cannot change the facts of existence. One of these facts is mentioned by Mrs. Eddy when she writes, “The Christian Scientist is alone with his own being and with the reality of things.” (’01 20:8-9) This is her call, to each of us individually, to work out our own salvation. So, in or out of a building, or in or out of a group, we each stand alone (as symbolized by the vertical line of the cross) and yet this is the key to being all-one and therefore is also the key to fellowship (as symbolized by the horizontal line of the cross). A focus on the essence of things will serve to keep the worship of the fellowship ever-fresh.

Rick’s comments and his quotation of ’01 20:8-9 (thank you, Rick) are a reminder to us that– quite irrespective of CSF-MC’s name– fellowship, or our collective connectedness with each other as “Us” in Christ (see S&H 588:11), is but one half of Christian Science…the Christian half. The Science half of Christian Science is our individual oneness with God– more precisely our Identity with (and, ultimately, as) Entity, for there is only one “I,” Which each of us must claim and realize for ourselves; no one else can do it for us.

In contemplating Rick’s reminder of the meaning of the vertical and horizontal bars of the Cross of Christ and of his very appropriate characterization of worship as adoration, I am reminded of Mrs. Eddy’s characterization of demonstration as “the highest prayer,” which, then, her marginal heading also defines as the “loftiest adoration.” (see S&H 16:2) This is surely ‘amazing grace’ as well as amazing worship– that Christianly Scientific demonstration should constitute the “loftiest adoration.” And, assumedly, such demonstration or adoration isn’t limited to the healing of individual sin or sickness, but can (and must) also encompass the demonstration of genuine, heart-felt fellowship. Could it be, Rick, that even as the vertical bar of the Cross stands for the God-to-man and man-to-God relationship in Christ, and as the horizontal bar of the Cross stands for the man-to-man relationship in Christ, so the coincidence of these two bars at the center of the Cross stands for our individual and collective demonstration of Christ in and as church? Isn’t Church, in the highest sense, nothing other than the demonstration of “the structure of Truth and Love?” In this sense, perhaps the Roman Catholics are correct, that there is no salvation outside of (the) Church.

I for one– while participating in a contemporary Christian worship service– love to ‘lose myself’ in ‘praise choruses’ whose lyrics are projected onto a screen, thus leaving my arms free for “lifting up holy hands” (see I Tim. 2:8), which kind of experience often tugs on my heartstrings and wrings a tear from my eyes. And yet, we are instructed in Science that “[a] self-satisfied ventilation of fervent sentiments never makes a Christian.” (S&H 7:21 only) This doesn’t mean, to me, that we must immediately ‘cease and desist’ from any and all such Biblical and/or traditional forms of Christian worship, including the more conventional singing from hymnbooks; it surely just means that we must progress as rapidly as possible in our individual spirituality beyond mere emotions to Truth and then let Truth spiritualize our emotions. But Truth, blessedly, is little more than Love, Which is closely related to the human emotion of love. So here we come full circle from the vertical bar to the horizontal bar and then to the center of the Cross of Christ.

I know a certain C.S. sister who complains that ’01 20:8-9 is one of the statements of Mrs. Eddy that she most dislikes, as it makes her feel so lonely, hence so sad. If said passage is ever invoked as an excuse for ‘no need for fellowship,’ which it probably has been, then I would have to agree with her, as I myself have certainly felt lonely, hence sad in the midst of C.S. congregations meeting in large edifices (whether they were/are mostly filled with or empty of people). But ’01 20:8-9 can surely also prompt us to persevere in that individual kind of spiritual ‘work,’ which is really adoration and can result in the heart-warming experience that “[o]’er waiting harp strings of the mind there sweeps a strain– low, sad, and sweet– whose measures bind the power of pain.”

Many thanks, Davy, for your response, and for referring to the “one I or Us” (S&H 588:11). The power inherent in the Principle of Christian Science is always referenced to one and only one. Really this is the only number that counts in Christian Science.

This also, ties in so beautifully with Mrs. Eddy’s statement, “The one Ego, the one Mind or Spirit called God, is infinite individuality, which supplies all form and comeliness and which reflects reality and divinity in individual spiritual man and things.” 281:14 This is truly the basis for “genuine heart-felt fellowship” as you put it so well.

The term “infinite individuality” is well worth pondering as it is so contrary to way the world works. The worldly way is to play the numbers game—of measuring and counting. The world is consumed with quantity and counting and it pervades business, government, health-care, academia, and religion. Counting is always a sign of material ways and means.

An eddy is a counter current in a river and Mary Baker Eddy certainly ended up with a name that captures the thrust of her life. We need to radically follow our Leader by, going counter to all the counting, since Spirit by its very nature is not countable. We cannot afford to play the numbers game since as soon we do we have left the principle. This is why Mrs. Eddy guides us “away from personality and numbering the people” in The Manual (Man 48:16) and this is why Christian Science “presents unfoldment and not accretion.” (68:27)

Thank you, Davy, also for mentioning the intersection of the cross. This juncture is a point and this point is representative of each single moment of our lives. Our lives are ment to be lived at this point, standing as an individual before God, in each moment fresh, and with conscious awareness. Material sense reports a world of billions of people each separate from each other (with a mind and body of their own) and separate from God. This is the world of the many—many people, places and things all with matter as their medium. Spiritual sense takes in the same scene, rejects the appearance of many, separate and limited, based on the principle of “I and my Father are one.” (John 10:30) Spiritual sense sees through the lie of the many and sees instead the expression of ‘infinite individuality” as one indivisible expression of Life.

Yes, you are right the highest sense of church is ‘the structure of Truth and Love” (583:12) and no one can be outside this structure. That would be like saying someone could be outside of infinity. This is entirely catholic, with a small c, meaning universal, relating to all men, all-inclusive.

The “structure of Truth and Love” is an all-inclusive embrace of and for everyone and especially for those who feel lonely. Isn’t it interesting that both lonely and alone include the word one? When we look at error closely there is always a tip off pointing to Truth.

Man’s characteristic position is uprightness and when we stand upright we actually look like the number 1. This tells us something. When we speak, we speak as I. This I looks like the number 1 also and tells us something also. I is the first person singular and the reference to singular is worth noting. When we look at a church steeple it looks like the number 1 and the letter I. This tells us something when we read the world with the Word in mind.

Say three of us are together looking at a rainbow. We might each get out our cell phones and call a friend and say, “I just saw a rainbow.” We would all speak as I. We all share the I. We all have I in common. This is the “one I or Us” in active expression.

In each moment there is something given and something not given. We can always practicing reading the moment. To anyone who is sad and lonely I would say, “Love the sadness. It will lead you somewhere. Love the loneliness.” I would not say, “This is easy.” It is not easy because the human mind rebels. It wants a reason to love. It wants an object to love. It is looking for a quid pro quo.

But loving without a reason is smart. It is smart because when choose to love we are immediately in relationship with Love. We come into alignment with Love. Error can’t stand this. Loving anyway, and loving no-matter-how-long-it-takes, takes practice. This is an art. As we practice this art it becomes a new way of being in the world. The love that has no reason, also has no agenda, and so it is pure because it is not trying to get something or someone. Now this is attractive! Who does not want to be in the presence of pure love?

The God who is Love, is the Comforter, and is also All-in-all. This is the biggest embrace there is—it is embrace of universal Love and this is very catholic—meaning very all-inclusive.

Thanks Rick and Davy for your insteresting and insightful exchange of ideas.

I have learned many useful lessons and had many unexpected blessin’s while journeying within the fold of church membership. I am grateful for the opportunity this forum provides for sharing thoughts and experiences that seek to enlarge the scope of the fold of fellowship among Christian Scientists … to test its boarders and stretch its boundaries. The desire to learn about fellowship is a wonderful place to start in stewarding this idea so that it serve as a place to discover fresh ideas and break new ground.

I am very grateful to Amy, Shirley, Sandi, and Rindy for their fine stewardship.

I see it as a sincere desire to promote and support the expression of “enlarged individuality, a wider sphere of thought and action, a more expansive love, a higher and more permanent peace.”

My desire to defer to this expression of man as my own has not always been welcomed into the fold where there has been misunderstanding, even disapproval at times while serving in various capacities within the posts I have been appointed or elected to. But through patience and love for God and man, eventually the tide has turned and those who were skeptical or resistent now recognize the value of that deference and not only support it, but have adopted it as their own way of regarding others.

More than one of Mrs. Eddy’s biographers described how she would prepare her thought before speaking with a group unfamiliar with the teachings she was promoting. She often faced great hostility and resistence. But she would not be deterred in deferring to that expression of expansive love that she knew was her own from divine Love. Before stepping before an audience, she is said to have let the Christ go before her. In that way, the message she brought to her listeners reached the receptive thought and her teachings began to take hold in ways the human design would not have accomplished. In some measure, she found a fellowship of kindred spirits within this type of gathering.

And Jesus never went into a situation unprepared. It didn’t matter if it was one on one or a crowd of thousands, his sphere of thought and action reached those in need and the need was met.

I continue to learn not to take others too literally and myself so seriously when the prospect of coming together is presented to me. Whether it be a social gathering of friends or family, a meeting, lunch with a friend … I have found it so useful to quiet whatever would suggest a separation between myself and others that also suggests more than One. I wait to see what opportunity awaits me with the Christ shepherding thought in a way that feeds me as well as those in my company with what will meet a need and advance us toward a fuller experience of God’s understanding and affection.

With this deference toward Christ in our midst, conversations have opened up in ways that, again, reliance on the human concept could not have accomplished. There was food found nourishing everyone’s spiritual sense with blessings that were passed around for all to enjoy and take with them after the meeting or gathering was over.

Sometimes this was accomplished in one meeting, sometimes over the course of several days as I experienced it in two separate occasions just recently where my husband and I had out of town guests spend several nights with us. My husband is not a Christian Scientist, but his living with one has shown him the truth of Christian Science in ways that prove to him its utility

The intercommunication between God and man forms a wonderful foundation for fellowship when this communication is given quiet breathing space in one’s own thought. The love and respect for one another’s good ideas, sincere questions and keen insights, concernes and cares, can lift thought in ways that make coming together fun and interesting, inspiring and reassuring … very healing.

Jesus was not afraid to rub elbows with those who knew their need was great. He wasn’t afraid of the challenges this presented nor was he afraid of having to meet their need through some personal wisdom or affection. He too relied upon and deferred to the Christ or true idea voicing good to supply the need for understanding and healing where those schooled in the letter would never dare to tread.

He recognized and deferred to God’s perfect man and this correct view blessed others.

Thanks to everyone for their comments. It makes for such an interesting time spent learning where others are coming from and where they would like to see things progress.

I appreciate JM’s sense and celebration of inclusiveness, which was and is identified as one of the principal objectives of CSF-MC, as articulated in the lead article above entitled ABOUT US, about which we are all commenting in this column.

A C.S. friend recently sent me a wonderful story (whether true or not) that may well highlight, if not epitomize the subject of inclusiveness for many of us. It’s a ‘tear-jerker,’ but it seems appropriate to ‘pay it forward’ by sharing it here. The question that it raises in my mind is not only the questions that its author raises in the following paragraph, but also ‘How can my church reach out to be as inclusive as this baseball team was with Shay?’

**********************************************

What would you do?…..you make the choice. Don’t look for a punch line, there isn’t one. Read it anyway. My question is: Would you have made the same choice?

At a fundraising dinner for a school that serves children with learning disabilities, the father of one of the students delivered a speech that would never be forgotten by all who attended. After extolling the school and its dedicated staff, he offered a question:

‘When not interfered with by outside influences, everything God does, is done with perfection. Yet my son, Shay, cannot learn things as other children do. He cannot understand things as other children do. Where is the God-order of things in my son?’

The audience was stilled by the query..

The father continued. ‘I believe that when a child like Shay comes into the world, who is mentally and physically disabled, an opportunity to realize the true nature of man presents itself, and it comes in the way we treat that child.’ Then he gave the following testimony:

Shay and I had walked past a park where some boys whom Shay knew were playing baseball. Shay asked, ‘Do you think they’ll let me play?’ I knew that most of the boys would not want someone like Shay on their team, but as a father I also understood that if my son were allowed to play, it would give him a much-needed sense of belonging and some confidence to be accepted by others in spite of his handicaps.

I approached one of the boys on the field and asked (not expecting much) if Shay could play. The boy looked around for guidance and said, ‘We’re losing by six runs and the game is in the eighth inning. I guess he can be on our team and we’ll try to put him in to bat in the ninth inning..’

Shay struggled over to the team’s bench and, with a broad smile, put on a team shirt. I watched with a small tear in my eye and warmth in my heart. The boys saw my joy at my son being accepted.

In the bottom of the eighth inning, Shay’s team scored a few runs but was still behind by three.

In the top of the ninth inning, Shay put on a glove and played in the right field. Even though no hits came his way, he was obviously ecstatic just to be in the game and on the field, grinning from ear to ear as I waved to him from the stands. In the bottom of the ninth inning, Shay’s team scored again.

Now, with two outs and the bases loaded, the potential winning run was on base and Shay was scheduled to be next at bat. At this juncture, do they let Shay bat and give away their chance to win the game?

Surprisingly, Shay was given the bat. Everyone knew that a hit was all but impossible because Shay didn’t even know how to hold the bat properly, much less connect with the ball.

However, as Shay stepped up to the plate, the pitcher, recognizing that the other team was putting winning aside for this moment in Shay’s life, moved in a few steps to lob the ball in softly so Shay could at least make contact…
The first pitch came and Shay swung clumsily and missed.

The pitcher again took a few steps forward to toss the ball softly towards Shay. As the pitch came in, Shay swung at the ball and hit a slow ground ball right back to the pitcher.
The game would now be over.

The pitcher picked up the soft grounder and could have easily thrown the ball to the first baseman.
Shay would have been out and that would have been the end of the game. Instead, the pitcher threw the ball right over the first baseman’s head, out of reach of all team mates. Everyone from the stands and both teams started yelling, ‘Shay, run to first! Run to first!’

Never in his life had Shay ever run that far, but he made it to first base. He scampered down the baseline, wide-eyed and startled.

Everyone yelled, ‘Run to second, run to second!’ Catching his breath, Shay awkwardly ran towards second, gleaming and struggling to make it to the base. By the time Shay rounded towards second base, the right fielder had the ball . the smallest guy on their team who now had his first chance to be the hero for his team.

He could have thrown the ball to the second-baseman for the tag, but he understood the pitcher’s intentions so he, too, intentionally threw the ball high and far over the third-baseman’s head.

Shay ran toward third base deliriously as the runners ahead of him circled the bases toward home. All were screaming, ‘Shay, Shay, Shay, all the Way Shay’

Shay reached third base because the opposing shortstop ran to help him by turning him in the direction of third base, and shouted, ‘Run to third! Shay, run to third!’

As Shay rounded third, the boys from both teams, and the spectators, were on their feet screaming, ‘Shay, run home! Run home!’

Shay ran to home, stepped on the plate, and was cheered as the hero who hit the grand slam and won the game for his team ‘That day’, said the father softly with tears now rolling down his face, ‘the boys from both teams helped bring a piece of true love and humanity into this world’.

Shay didn’t make it to another summer. He died that winter, having never forgotten being the hero and making me so happy, and coming home and seeing his Mother tearfully embrace her little hero of the day.

I am so grateful for St. Louis’ group, L.A.’s group, your group – and the beginning of my own CSF group! Thank you for following St. Louis’ example. I love the NEW thinking on the meaning of “primitive Christianity.”

Lots of love,
Jodi B. in VA

And Davy – loved the story above this post. Thank you for that too. ::hug::

I have been HIV+ for 12 years and recently started taking medicine. My doctor doesn’t want to hear about Christian Science and the Christian Scientists I know don’t want to hear (or know) about my doctor or medical challenges. I don’t need to advertise it but I don’t want to treat it like a dirty secret either. I still pray and I have broken all the medical expectations of my demise. They call me “freakishly healthy.” I’m very pleased that you are making this effort to reach out to people like me.

“The word “religion” derives from the Latin “religare,” which means “to bind together” and I have been separated from my Christian Science community for at least 20 years. I think the social and spiritual isolation is far worse than the HIV.

My first wife was a Christian Scientist who died at a early age from complications of diabetes. She felt ashamed to take insulin and was shunned by practitioners if she did. Some of the remarks from practitioners to her were cruel and unloving. They even laughed at her – one put down the phone, went to get his wife and both proceeded to just laugh at her. I think she died of a broken heart really.

I am remarried to a wonderful woman who works in pediatric oncology but has a deep respect for Mrs Eddy and believes in spiritual healing. God has not abandoned me. My religion has. Does one stop praying for one’s self if they go to the doctor? It would be foolish if not impossible to un-think the truth while using medical care (or fighting a war). If this is true for the individual it is also true for the whole human family.

I very much appreciate your warm responses. I agree that the type of behavior I described was not at all Mrs. Eddy’s intention. That fact has pulled me out of some dark places in the past. It’s wonderful to be back in the family (I never really left)!!!
Much love!

Dear Anon,
I am sorry for your loss and the horrible situation your first wife found herself in. All in need should be lovingly supported and encouraged, no matter the circumstances.

Several years ago I too was in a medical situation, and it was not fellow Christian Scientists that responded negatively, but my own self condemnation that almost got me down. I had to realize that if I was doing my best, then I was doing everything I could to progress. I am still confronted with the physical difficulty, BUT I am much more inspired in my thinking. My attitude is more joyous and I am feeling better and getting around more comfortably. There is still much to do, but I’m so grateful for sites such as this one that open our eyes to the goodness and blessings around us.

With the loving support of you wife and constant prayer and rejoicing you can continue to progress and expect healing.

Thank you so much for sharing your experiences with us because I know that there are many people that are going through or have gone through difficult times in their lives and long to trust that they can continue to recognize themselves as spiritual, clear and healthy beings while still holding on to medical care in some way. I particularly love that you pointed out the the word “religion” derives from the Latin “religare,” which means “to bind together.” I did not know that, and yet, that is the only reason I would want to be a part of a religion.

This reminds me of a quote from Mary Baker Eddy in this week’s lesson, “His [Christ’s] proof of Christianity was no form or system of religion and worship, but Christian Science, working out the harmony of Life and Love,” (Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, pg. 26).

Bless you as you “become as a little child,” (S&H 323) continuing-as you do- to love the health and clarity of your being, this certainly is the Principled love that God shows us, isn’t it!

My heart weeps for your first wife and the unkindness you describe. Surely such was not Mrs. Eddy’s intention for her church.

You have already recognized some of God’s great love for you in your wonderful present wife and your conviction that you can and should keep praying to an infinite Love who is not boxed in by any culture or tradition.

Dear Anonymous, I can’t get your story out of my thought. I’m especially drawn to your self-description as “freakishly healthy,” despite all you’ve been through. I have a feeling you could be really helpful to people who might be in similar situations as yours but not feel quite as wonderful as you are. They could be feeling they would have preferred a healing through spiritual means alone, but it hasn’t happened yet. And although medicine may offer some measure of support, they want to stay connected to God. So
I presume your point is that despite your own medical involvement, you are praying and finding some inspiration that’s keeping you more healthy than the medical predictions may have indicated.

If that’s true, then it would be helpful to hear how you’re able to get close to God. Clearly, it’s a common goal for all of us to feel God’s tender care and closeness, and yet the medical involvement can make people feel either unwilling or unable to pray very much. Basically I’d love to hear from you: “how do you stay close to God?”

And, by the way, I echo the compassion previous “commenters” have offered in reply to your message. I’m glad you’re letting us love you and welcome you. And I’m glad for your willingness to share so much of yourself as well.

Hi, I am just a curious inquirer. I would like to know what inspired the concepts used in the service. Are they ideas taken from wednesday night service, camp, or other churches? I guess I would like to know is it something that members came up with on their own or is it something that was designed specifically for outreach/growth using a variety of sources. Thanks

Thanks so much for asking, John. We’re very intent on discerning the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Like those early Christians whose hearts were on fire by the presence of the Holy Spirit, we also yearn to act on the power of that Spirit. We know that a worship experience should always guide us to the embrace of Christ’s presence. It urges us to question all the traditions and habits we’ve inherited. If we don’t find Christ in our midst, we’re willing to abandon the practice and look for a better way.

That’s the Spirit that also inspires us to love and listen to others. Decisions for our activities come from careful listening to what people are asking for. If you’ve just found our blog, you may not know that in our formative days, we held discussions with a variety of people for the purpose of learning what they would like to see in a Christian Science church community. Two particularly influential groups were young adults and those who were formerly Christian Scientists. We wanted to know why they left and what we might to do welcome them – and others who may not already feel settled in a church home.

More recently, we conducted surveys that indicated how interactivity and discussion opportunities rate highly among those who have attended the Gatherings. Everything we’re doing at this point is rather fluid. If something doesn’t really speak, we move on to something new. We love hearing ideas from blog readers, as well as from those who attend our Gatherings and discussions.

The next meetings are January 9 and 23, and February 13 and 27. We plan to schedule them for the second and fourth Sundays each month — except when there’s a need to work around holidays, such as Easter.

On the blog, you will find a calendar on the right side under the photo listing the dates for coming meetings. You can verify meeting dates there. When you click on the date, that will take you to details — time and place.

Hello there! This blog post couldn’t be written any better! Looking at this article reminds me of my previous roommate! He continually kept talking about this. I’ll send this article to him. Fairly certain he will have a great read. Thanks for sharing!